Above Photo: American President Carter signs the SALT II Treaty with Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
Détente:
The term détente is French for 'relaxation". In this context détente refers to the period of relaxed tension between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War from the late 1960's to the late 1970's.
By the late 1960's both superpowers achieved rough nuclear parity with each other; this in turn lead to mutually assured destruction. Therefore, neither nation wanted nuclear war with the other. It was pointless and dangerous to continue stockpiling nuclear weapons. Thus the two superpowers and Britain signed the Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty in 1968, which aimed to limit the spread of nuclear arms. By 1975, 93 other nations had also signed this treaty.
It is also important to note the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT). In 1972 the SALT I Treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and the United States. A second SALT Treaty (SALT II) was prepared and signed on June 18th, 1979. However, the United States Senate never ratified it (the treaty was deemed invalid, as if the United States never signed it).
Another major achievement of the détente was the Helsinki Accords. It was signed in 1975 between the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, and most European nation. The Helsinki Accords attempted to improve relations between the East and the West by clarifying the divide between Eastern and Western Europe, encouraging peaceful solutions to international tensions, promoting respect for human rights, and facilitate movement of people across borders.
Détente ended when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1980. The Arms Race between the two power blocs resumed in the 1980's.
By the late 1960's both superpowers achieved rough nuclear parity with each other; this in turn lead to mutually assured destruction. Therefore, neither nation wanted nuclear war with the other. It was pointless and dangerous to continue stockpiling nuclear weapons. Thus the two superpowers and Britain signed the Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty in 1968, which aimed to limit the spread of nuclear arms. By 1975, 93 other nations had also signed this treaty.
It is also important to note the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT). In 1972 the SALT I Treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and the United States. A second SALT Treaty (SALT II) was prepared and signed on June 18th, 1979. However, the United States Senate never ratified it (the treaty was deemed invalid, as if the United States never signed it).
Another major achievement of the détente was the Helsinki Accords. It was signed in 1975 between the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, and most European nation. The Helsinki Accords attempted to improve relations between the East and the West by clarifying the divide between Eastern and Western Europe, encouraging peaceful solutions to international tensions, promoting respect for human rights, and facilitate movement of people across borders.
Détente ended when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1980. The Arms Race between the two power blocs resumed in the 1980's.